Houston’s Alana Torres-Rivera (2) receives a serve from Baylor during the second half of an NCAA college volleyball match, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Houston. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
Houston volleyball was defeated by the No. 23 Baylor Bears 3-1 on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
The Cougars started the game on fire with an early 4-0 lead in the first set. Several consecutive points by Baylor tied the score at 8.
Both teams battled back and forth to once again tie the game at 14. UH pulled away to establish a 21-17 lead over the Bears.
Houston’s drive persisted throughout the match, and a kill by senior outside hitter Katie Corelli earned the Cougars a win in set one.
UH continued their momentum from the first set, with several strong kills by Corelli that showcased Houston’s electric offense.
Two kills by junior outside hitter Avery Shimaitis and an ace from graduate outside hitter Angela Grieve secured an early 8-5 lead for the Cougars.
Baylor responded with two kills and an ace to take the lead, but a kill by Corelli tied the game at 13.
Baylor managed to pull away with five straight points. Grieve’s back-to-back kills ended Baylor’s scoring streak, but Houston was unable to catch up.
The Bears scored another five consecutive points, and a block assist by Baylor’s sophomore middle blocker Victoria Davis and graduate setter Jackie Barrett Fraizer wrapped set two as a 25-16 victory for the Bears.
Following the loss in the second set, Houston struggled to find a rhythm in the third set. A 2-7 start forced the Cougars to take a timeout and regroup.
Two kills by Grieve and an ace by senior setter Rebecca Roccasin changed the pace of the game, which forced a Baylor timeout, and narrowed Houston’s deficit to just two points.
Nevertheless, Baylor’s offense was too much for the Cougars to handle in set three. A UH attack error gave Baylor their second match point, ending the set with a 25-17 Cougar loss.
Houston entered set four, looking to reignite the spark that they entered the game with. A 6-0 scoring run by Baylor was terminated with a kill from UH’s freshman middle blocker Addisyn Pohl.
Despite competitive back-and-forth play, Houston was unable to overcome the seven-point deficit and was defeated in a narrow 25-23 match.
Grieve led the Cougars with 18 kills and Cooke had a team-high 40 assists
Graduate libero Kate Georgiades led the team with 16 digs and junior libero Alana Torres-Rivera recorded a career-high of ten digs.
At the net, redshirt junior middle blocker Barakat Rahmon tied the Cougars’ season-high with seven blocks in the match.
With the loss, Houston’s record drops to 8-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
The Cougars’ next game is against UCF in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m.
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“Volleyball falls to No. 23 Baylor in hard-fought 3-1 match” was originally posted on The Cougar